Summer Blues, Fall Jazz
by Hotaru
Summary: The long awaited sequel to my badly titled fic, "Black Widow"! Has Spike survived? What's the deal with Vicious?


Summer Blues and Fall Jazz  
  
By: Hotaru  
  
Birds singing. Bright sunlight. A distinct warmth that only comes from the sun. A cool breeze, fresh air.   
  
The bright blue sky as seen from the terrain of Earth is unbearably bright to eyes that have been closed for close to a week. The white, columnus clouds that reflected the sunlight make eyes burn. Your eye sight seems slightly better after the sun's been beating down onto closed eye lids. Trees are sharper, clearer.   
  
Singing. Human singing, or humming rather. Light, airy...peaceful.   
  
"Where the hell am I?" A voice cracked, barely audible.  
  
A light gasp, then the sound of something clattering to the floor, and foot steps.  
  
"Are you alright? Do you know who you are? What's your name?" A thousand hurried questions towards someone who's too tired to answer.  
  
He blinked a few times, and shifted his eyes over to the girl leaning over him. "Who are you?" He asked the girl with peach colored hair, and a yellow bandana.  
  
"Aki. Who are you?" She replied with a smile.  
  
"I'm...Spike." He answered slowly as if trying to remember.  
  
"You've been sleeping for a long time, Spike. You're lucky I found you, or else you would have died." Aki said, walking over to what looked like a grill.  
  
The battle with Vicious. I barely made it out of the building before he blew it up. The explosion knocked me into an alley...into a pile of garbage and cardboard. It hurt too much to move. So I slept.  
  
"How did you find me?" Spike asked, sitting up in the porch swing he was laying on.  
  
"I was in the area, heard the explosion and went running. Or...pedaling. You're lucky I had my bike too, or else I'd have never been able to take you all the way back here. I used all my money to buy stuff to patch you up. And now I have to feed you too..." Aki replied, smiling despite her money constraints.  
  
"I guess I owe you big time, then." Spike stated, inhaling deeply. "What are you cooking?" He asked.  
  
"Barbecue chicken...that's pretty much all we've got. Earth doesn't have much now a days."  
  
"Were you born here?"  
  
"Yup. This is my grandparents old home. It's pretty much a wreck inside, so I stay out here for most of the summer, fall and spring. Winter, though, I stay in the room with the fire place. It's actually kind of a big adventure."  
  
Smirking, Spike looked up at the sky. The fight still wasn't over. He was alive. Vicious was alive. Julia...was hurt. Did Vicious really care about her? His behavior towards her resembled schizophrenia. One minute, he loves her, the next he's knocking her to the floor.  
  
"Hey, I said 'Are you hungry?'" Aki said, tapping on the grill with her tongs.  
  
"Oh sorry. Just thinking....yeah, I'm starving." Spike replied, trying to stand.  
  
"Don't, you'll hurt yourself." Aki warned, wheeling over a little black table towards Spike. "Your food will be ready in a minute. By the way, does it hurt anywhere? I have some pain killers around here somewhere.."  
  
"Yeah, but nothing I can't handle." Spike said. She sure does talk a lot. He thought.  
  
Barbecue. Sun. Beaches. Lemonade. Is this what Earth summers are composed of?  
  
"Here you go!" Aki said, placing a plate of barbecue chicken in front of Spike. "I don't have much to season it with. The store sauce is alright, but kind of...too smoky for my tastes. But you look starving so I'm sure you won't mind it." Nodding, Spike grabbed a leg and took a bite out of it.  
  
"Tender." He complemented, taking another bite.  
  
Grinning, Aki handed him a damp old towel to wipe his hands on. "So you feel like telling me what you were doing in that alley?" She asked, sitting on the swing next to him.  
  
"Not exactly. It's complicated." Spike replied, starting on a breast.  
  
"Oh...I just figured...it's the least you could do. I mean, I did save your life and all...but I guess it's okay.." Aki sighed.  
  
"I just got into a fight with an old enemy of mine. He blew up his work place, I barely got out alive." Spike answered finally.  
  
"Don't you have family that would be worried about you? Shouldn't you call someone?"  
  
"Later. Right now, I'm eating."  
  
Aki let him be for a while, serving him a few big cups of lukecold water while he devoured an entire chicken. Something about this man intruiged her.   
  
*  
  
"So what did you used to do?" Aki asked, after dinner was finished and they sky had turned a dark blue.  
  
"Used to do? You mean like work?" Spike replied, his long legs stretched out in front of him.  
  
"Yeah. Your occupation. I can't think of one that would suit you."  
  
"Is that what you've been thinking about?"  
  
"Among other things. So what were you? Not a cop, or a doctor...you're definately not a criminal."  
  
"You're right. But it'd probably be wise if you didn't know."  
  
"Secret Service?! Syndie thug? Come on!"  
  
Sighing, Spike pat his pockets for his pack of cigarettes. Finding it, he pulled on and lit it up. "Like I said, it's better if you didn't know." He drawled.  
  
"Why do you have to be so damn secretive?! I saved your goddamn life, the least you could do is convince me you were worth saving!" Aki exclaimed, before pulling open the screen door to the decrepit house and disappearing inside.  
  
"She's spunky." He noted, before climbing off the porch spring and heading inside.  
  
He was in what used to be the kitchen. there were tiles missing from the floor, and doors missing from the cabinets. "Hey Aki...where are you?" He called, not sure if the floor would support his weight.  
  
"It's best if you didn't know." Aki retorted. Following her voice, Spike made his way to a living room.   
  
"I'm sorry, okay. If you really have to know, I'll tell you." He said, leaning against the door frame.  
  
"I don't want to know now." Aki snorted from the couch she was sitting on.  
  
"Do you have to be so melodramatic? Look, I was a bounty hunter, okay? It got me into trouble on...quite a few occasions so I figured it would be best if you didn't know."  
  
"That's it? That's the big secret? God, I was expecting something good."  
  
"You're the one who made such a big deal out of it."  
  
"I guess...it's better than selling insurance or something. So were you rich?"  
  
"No. Poor. Very, very poor."  
  
"How come? Were you bad at catching criminals?"  
  
Spike snorted and took a drag from his cigarette. "Not quite. It was getting them alive that was the problem. Plus, my ship mates were less than helpful." He answered.  
  
"That's right! You have to call them, and let them know you're okay!" Aki exclaimed, hopping off the couch.  
  
"Yeah...I probably should give them a call. Jet's probably lost his mind by now."  
  
"Jet? Who's he?" Aki asked, heading back out towards the phone.  
  
"Just an old friend. Used to be I.S.S.P.."  
  
"Retired or quit?"  
  
"A little of both."  
  
The phone unit looked anceint. But Aki seemed to know what she was doing, so she just asked Spike to punch in the frequency for his ship. "So who else is on this ship waiting for your punk ass to call?" Aki asked while the phone dialed.  
  
"Faye...she's kind of...well annoying as hell. And there's Edward, who's a genius hacker, which is the only reason she's still on the ship. Then the dog." Spike replied.  
  
"Ed's a she? Interesting..okay, it's gonna connect in a sec, so get ready."  
  
Spike stood in front of the small video screen and waited to see who answered. "What?" Jet growled, obviously pulled from something important.  
  
"Yo." Spike grinned. Jet rubbed his eyes and blinked at the screen. He leaned forward, trying to see better.  
  
"Spike...you son of a bitch! Where are you? Are ya hurt?"  
  
"Yeah, a bit. But I'm alright. Where's Faye?"  
  
Jet remained silent, and Spike became alarmed. "Jet? What...what is it? Where is she?" He asked quickly.  
  
"She abandoned ship so to speak. Got real depressed after the whole incident, and just left one night without telling anyone." Jet replied.  
  
"Did you try calling the Redtail?"  
  
"Yeah, her com's turned off. I have no idea where to look for her either."  
  
"You try the pony races?"  
  
"Yeah, more than once. I'm just hoping she gives us a call so I can stop...leaving the hangar unlocked. Don't think I care about her or anything, she's nothin' but trouble."  
  
"I know, Jet. She's a major pain in the ass...but she can be useful. Alright ah...as soon as I can, I'll search around for her here."  
  
"Alright...hey Spike?"  
  
"Yeah Jet?"  
  
Jet sighed and cast his eyes downward. "I was really worried about you this time. We barely made it out of that building, and we had a guy helping us. I can't deny that I really thought you'd still be in there when it blew."  
  
"Thanks Jet...hey, how's the girl doing?"  
  
"Oh...not that bad. Traumatized, but Ed's being friendly to her and helping her along."  
  
"That's good at least...the woman?"  
  
"No...I mean, she didn't make it. We took her to the nearest hospital but there was nothing they could do."  
  
"I'm sorry Jet."  
  
"Yeah...well, you woke me up and I haven't been able to sleep lately so I better go."  
  
"Yeah. Good night, I guess."  
  
"Talk to you later, Spike."  
  
Turning off the phone, Spike sighed. "Wow...he seemed genuinely worried about you." Aki commented.  
  
"Yeah. I guess I didn't realize he'd be worried. He's always such a hard ass all the time...I figured he'd be glad to have me out of his hair, or what's left of it anyway." Spike replied, glancing up at the night sky. Aki laughed and pulled a rolled up sleeping bag from behind her.  
  
"So you feel like sleeping on the swing or the floor?" She asked.  
  
"Doesn't matter. I guess the floor." He replied, pulling his coat off. The summer heat had faded, but the night was still humid.  
  
Aki rolled out the sleeping bag, and unzipped the side a bit, before taking another one and unrolling it. "Aren't you sleeping up there?" Spike asked, gesturing to the swing with a nod of his head.  
  
"Nope. That wouldn't be fair right? Besides, I like sleeping under the stars." Aki replied, tossing some pillows to the floor.  
  
"Huh. How old are you now?"  
  
"...eighteen. Why? How old are you?"  
  
"Twenty-seven." Spike grinned.  
  
"Wow. You don't look that old." Spike stopped grinning.  
  
"Twenty-seven is not old." Spike replied, crawling into a slick sleeping bag.  
  
"Sure. I guess. To me, it is. But I guess what I'd really consider old would be like...fifty. The fun doesn't have to stop just cause you get older." Aki said with a cheerful smile.  
  
"You're a free spirit, aren't you?"  
  
"Yep. I don't let nothing confine me. If one day I felt like leaving, I'd grab the essentials and ride my bike where ever the road goes...no, I wouldn't even follow the road. Just where ever I want to go."  
  
"Sounds nice. I used to wish I could disappear. Fade away, like I never existed, and not have to worry about anyone finding me..."  
  
"Used to?"  
  
Spike sighed, and put his hands behind his head. Aki turned and rested her head on her hand, and propped herself up on her elbow. "Why no more?" She questioned sincerely.  
  
"I guess...I realized you'll never truly be free from your past. No matter where you go, or how fast you travel it'll always be right behind you." Spike sighed, closing his eyes.  
  
"You're very poetic. That's nice in a guy."  
  
"Ha. You better not be coming on to me. I'm leaving in a few days anyway."  
  
"Is that anyway to treat the person who saved your life? Enjoy the rest of summer with me, it'll be fun! I'll show you how I live around here, and fall's kind of nice. The remaining tree's leaves turn red, and fall off. I like to save them so I have memories when the trees eventually whither and die. Did you ever do that?"  
  
"I never did anything crafty."  
  
"Oh...well, goodnight then Spike."  
  
"Night."  
  
*  
  
The following day, Spike awoke to the smell of omelets. Crawling out of his sleeping bag, he sat up. "Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Aki asked cheerfully.  
  
"What..? Oh, yeah, fine." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "But you kept shoving your ass into my back."  
  
"Really?! I do that sometimes. I'll sleep on the swing tonight, if you want."  
  
"It's ok, don't worry about it."  
  
"So, what are your plans for today? Were you going to look for your friend?"  
  
Spike felt around in his pockets for a smoke and groaned. "Yeah...I guess. I have nothing better to do." He mumbled.  
  
"Well, I'm sure I could think of plenty for you to do, but I think you should find your friend first." Aki replied, handing him a plate with an omelet on it.  
  
"Thanks. You have a working shower around here?"  
  
"Yeah, on the second floor. At the top of the steps. I'd take you, but too much weight isn't good for the floors."  
  
"I'm sure I'll be able to find it." Spike practically inhaled his omelet and stood up. "I'll be back." He promised, heading inside.  
  
When he returned, a sheet had been draped over a clothesline. He looked at the bottom and saw Aki's feet. Glancing around the side, curiously, he caught a glimpse of her bare back. She must be changing her clothes he told himself, sitting on the swing to wait. Aki pulled the sheet off the line and rolled it up before screaming when she saw Spike. "What?" He asked raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Don't scare me like that. I didn't hear you come out." Aki breathed putting her hand over her heart.  
  
"What were you doing that you didn't want me to see?" Spike snickered.  
  
"Changing, pedophile. Anyway, you ready to go?"  
  
"I didn't realize you were coming with me." Spike remarked to the girl. She had changed into a white tanktop and red over-all shorts. And flip flops donned her feet.  
  
"Yeah. Two heads are better than one right? Besides, I can't have you leaving now." Aki replied walking down the narrow alley-way that led to the street.  
  
"Why's that? You planning on keeping me as a hostage?"  
  
"Sure. I'll handcuff you to me during the nights so you won't leave."  
  
"Great incentive. Why are you so afraid of me leaving?" Spike asked as they started along the broken up cobblestone road.  
  
Aki glanced up at him. "Why do you think? There's no one around here for miles, I have to talk to myself to keep busy. I have nothing to do. All I want is some company for a little while." She replied.  
  
"Oh. I thought that everyone moved closer to everyone else. Like little villages or something." Spike said.  
  
"Yeah, in the cities that's how it is. But I didn't like it there, and everyone thought there was something wrong with me. No one objected to my leaving, it was one less mouth to feed."  
  
"Well that isn't very nice. How far are we from the place you found me?"  
  
"Not too far. If a car comes by we can hitch a ride, or you can ride my bike while I sit on your lap."  
  
Spike's eyes shifted to the younger girl. "You better stop flirting with me." He warned.  
  
"Ah, I'm just having a bit of fun." She grinned, climbing on the bike and riding ahead. "Let me know if you find any flowers. They're really hard to come by, and I like them a lot. Remember that when my birthday comes around." She called, while riding in circles, glancing back at Spike occassionally. He seemed to be further back each time she looked. "Hey...I never asked where you come from." She said, turning around in a circle. When she was facing him again, he was kneeling on the floor on his hands and knees. "Spike!" She exclaimed, turning the bike and pedalling towards him.  
  
Jumping off of the bike, she fell to the floor next to Spike. "Are you okay? What's wrong!?" She exclaimed. He was clutching his side, where Vicious had sliced him open. "I think I tore it open." He said painfully.  
  
"Oh no. Can you sit up?" Aki asked worriedly.  
  
"Yeah." Spike replied, sitting up slowly. His shirt was turning red from the blood.  
  
"It's bleeding. Let me get my bike, I'll take you to the hospital."  
  
"You have a hospital here?"  
  
Aki wheeled the bike over and put the kickstand down. "It's a few miles in. Just hope someone with a truck comes by." She replied, helping him up.  
  
"You intend on walking the whole way?" Spike asked, sitting on the bike seat.  
  
"There isn't anything else I can do. If I take you home, there isn't much I can do by myself." Aki said, starting to push the bike down the road.  
  
"My ship's parked somewhere..Lefrack City* I think?"  
  
"Yeah, that's where I picked you up. It's quite a ways away from here though."  
  
Aki glanced down, and saw the blood was still soaking his shirt. Stopping the bike, she balanced it and started taking Spike's jacket off. "What are you doing?" He asked.  
  
"You're bleeding pretty badly. I'm gonna tie your jacket to try and stop the bleeding, or at least slow it down." Aki replied.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I really wish I knew someone around here with a truck."  
  
"There isn't someone you can call? Police or something?" Spike asked, feeling pretty bad that Aki would have to wheel him for a few miles.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Do you even live here?!" Spike asked impatiently.  
  
"What are you talking about? Of course I do!" Aki retorted.  
  
"Then why don't you know anything? You don't know anyone that lives around here, and you don't know if there's even law enforcement. Don't you see anything wrong with that?"  
  
"Well I'm sorry that I don't get near death and need emergency medical care like you do! You think that Earth is like Mars or Venus or where ever you're from, but it's not."  
  
"I just don't want you to have to do this."  
  
"What? Help you?"  
  
"No. Just...never mind."  
  
*  
  
*I saw Lefrack City painted on a building while driving home from Brooklyn. It sounded so familiar to me, but I can't figure out where I heard it from. So I stuck it in here. Hope you're enjoying the sequel! 


End file.
